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Anglovenator
Anglovenator (from the Latin Anglia, meaning England, and venator, meaning hunter) is a large carnivorous theropod dinosaur native to the British Isles. First discovered in Lancashire, north-west England, specimens have been found across the archipelago and appear to represent one of the most common dinosaur species of its time and place. Anglovenator appears to have been a member of the Carcharodontosaurid family, and features the massive size, slicing teeth and three-clawed forelimbs common to dinosaurs of that kind. Anglovenator lived between 107 and 90 million years ago, enjoying a thirteen million year period of dominance in the areas it inhabited. As the largest predator in the region, it is likely that it had no natural predators of its own. One of the largest Carcharodontosaurs, Anglovenator appears to have been bested in size by only Carcharodontosaurus and possibly a few others of its family as well as the much larger Spinosaurus and Thalassosuchosaurus. Description NAnglovenator appears to have been one of the largest theropods ever to exist, by Spinosaurus and Thalassosuchosaurus. Estimates for Anglovenator's size vary, with length estimates typically ranging from 10 to 15 metres long (though some extreme estimates place the animal at almost 20 metres in length) and weight estimates tending to be between 12 and 15 tonnes (13-16.5 short tons). As its name suggests, Anglovenator was a predatory dinosaur with the large jaws and long, serrated teeth common to Carcharodontosaurs. Like its close relative Giganotosaurus, Anglovenator had a very long skull, measuring over a metre in length. Each one of its more teeth were serrated and measured more than six inches long, making them ideal for slicing into the flesh of prey and inflicting grievous wounds. However, it has been discerned that, like Allosaurus, Anglovenator had a weak bite relative to its size. As a result it probably employed a killing strategy similar to Allosaurus, using its head like an axe to drive its upper jaw into the flesh of its prey. Anglovenator lived as a solitary animal, though are known to have opportunistically formed temporary packs in order to bring down individual Britannotitan, the largest herbivorous dinosaur in the region. In addition to this massive prey, they are known to have eaten marine reptiles such as Icthyosaurs, small herbivorous dinosaurs and even carnivorous dinosaurs unable to fight it off. At least one example of Anglovenator cannibalism has been found, with the remains of a juvenile Anglovenator found inside the stomach of an adult. Anglovenator displayed sexual dimorphism, with the females appearing significantly larger than the males, sometimes measuring more than a metre longer and weighing half a tonne more. Females also displayed small crests above the eyes, similar to dinosaurs such as Allosaurus and Saurophaganax. When mating, the male Anglovenator is thought to have mounted the female. Mating took perhaps a minute, and both males and females would mate with several individuals during the mating season. Female Anglovenators laid between five and twenty eggs at a time, and it is thought that all of these would have hatched provided none were destroyed by nest raiders. Male Anglovenators had no role in the care of offspring, and were more likely to view young Anglovenator, even their own, as food. Hatchlings mothers cared for them for the first six months of their life, and then abandoned them once they were large enough to fend for themselves. Up to the age of three Anglovenator was vulnerable to predators, but on reaching the maximum size and weight the adults were safe from attack. Category:Carnivores Category:Dinosaurs Category:Fan-made Species Category:Theropods Category:Carcordontasaurids Category:Carcharodontosaurids Category:England